Perfection
by Demented Insane Spirit
Summary: He found that optimism of hers to be the greatest virtue, that sweet countenance to be utter perfection. It was her blind loyalty that he found to be the great imperfection of the entire human race...and it was a pity. One shot.


DIS: I cannot help but write Death Note fiction...I need it outta my system.

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_Title: Perfection_

_Rating: K+_

_Genre: Romance/Drama_

_Summary: He found that optimism of hers to be the greatest virtue, that sweet countenance to be her utter perfection. It was her blind loyalty that he found to be the great imperfection of the entire human race...and it was a pity. One shot. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note_

_Notes/Warnings: one shot; L/Misa; third attempt at this fandom_

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_Perfection_

It was not often that Light allowed himself to be drawn out from his work to entertain Misa, regardless of how much L suggested that he ought to do so. L, in fact, tagged along with Light and Misa as always, eating an ice cream cone that had been sold at a vendor. The weather was nice for once and the sunlight was pouring down on the trio as they strolled past other people enjoying the weather. Light had his hands in his pocket, appearing deep in thought and indifferent towards the entire world. Misa walked a bit ahead of them, chattering about something, twirling around occasionally to meet Light's eyes. He would also nod and murmur something in response to something she said to feign interest in order to keep her busy and occupied. L, however, was focused on everything the girl was saying and watching her footsteps crisscross like a dancer's.

"Ryuuzaki," she said at one point, pausing, "why do you keep staring at my legs like that? Are you being a pervert?" She raised an eyebrow at him, stopping altogether and putting her hands on her hips. L lifted his eyes to her face very slowly, licking his ice cream cone as he did so. Light observed the interaction with apparent boredom. Misa 'harrumphed' and lifted a leg, holding it up with her hands. "Here! Look at it if you want to so bad!"

"Misa...," Light sighed, putting a fist to his forehead, somewhat embarrassed by her demeanor. "Would you knock it off? Ryuuzaki wasn't staring at your legs."

"What, at my butt then?" Misa demanded of him and then promptly turned around and put her hands on her hips again, as though to draw attention to her backside that was firmly enclosed in shorts. "Well, here it is! No need to make a secret out of it."

"Knock it off," Light told her, nudging her forward. "Ryuuzaki wasn't looking at you that way at all. Right, Ryuuzaki?"

"On the contrary, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki said mildly, taking another lick of his cone, "I was quite enjoying looking at her legs as she walked. But I was more interested in the way in which she was walking, like a ballet dancer's, not necessarily the shape and tone of her legs or her backside." He paused, slurping on his cone. "But now that you have brought my attention to it, Misa, you do have quite the attractive legs and backside."

"Ah! You pervert!" Misa gasped, waving her hands indignantly. L lowered his cone and raised his eyebrows at her and then looked at Light, who put an arm around her shoulders and pushed her forward again, clearly to keep her moving.

L waited a moment and then followed them shortly after, gazing out at the river they were crossing over on a bridge. It was always a strange experience to feel cool, fresh air on his face after working on a hard case. He paused on the bridge and closed his eyes, the breeze pushing through his long, unruly hair. He could smell the cold river on the air and the trees and blooming flowers on the air. He was able to hear things better with his eyes closed – the sound of children, the pattering of feet, and the sound of the river flowing rapidly beneath him. It was comforting to feel, yet it also made him uneasy and restless. He was not accustomed to anything but the feel of papers and files in his hands, tea by his side, and a treat in front of him. He began to fidget uncomfortably and opened his eyes, taking a bite from his cone and eating it more quickly as though to satisfy the unease in his stomach.

"Ryuuzaki." He turned as Light approached his side, leaning against the bridge and looking at him. "Misa had to go after a cotton candy vendor," he grumbled, "so I told her I would retrieve you." He nodded his head over to where Misa was talking with a man, laughing as he said something to her. He had a stick with cotton candy bags attached to it. L watched as she smiled at the man, her face even more bright in the sunlight. He felt Light's eyes on his face, but did not care if he was watching him. He took a bite out of his waffle cone, continuing to watch Misa interact with the vendor.

"How can you dislike such a girl?" he queried in his soft voice.

"She annoys me," Light said dismissively and then turned away from Ryuuzaki.

"I think she is a very special individual, Light," L told him mildly, crunching on his cone until there was nothing left. "Nothing fazes her...she is forever cheerful, regardless of the situation and constantly friendly to everyone, no matter the person." He turned slightly to look at Light, who had tilted his head back to look at him as he spoke. "She is even nice to me." Light made a small sound and then turned away, apparently disinterested with the conversation.

L took a few steps away and then leaned against the bridge as well, leaning far over it, staring into the river. While he knew that Misa and Light were his prime suspects, it did not mean that he could not like them as well. He was not justice, nor was he a police officer, or any other sort of person that was ruled by moral codes like others in the field happened to be, but just a man that was quite good at investigating cases. He was dishonest, he did not play fair, and he certainly broke laws here and then on occasion when he felt it necessary. And so, even though he knew Light and Misa had committed crimes, he could not find himself disliking either of them to any serious extent for that as he, too, had committed crimes. It did not, however, mean that he trusted them. Yet, in spite of everything, whether it be good or not, he was drawn inexplicably to each of them, more so to Misa for the sheer fact that her warm, vibrant personality seemed to pour into him, filling him with an unnatural heat to which he was unaccustomed.

Her optimism and sweet sincerity when she spoke could only be part of her perfection. He could not look at her pretty face without feeling a small ounce of awe. She was everything that he knew he had never possessed and would never, could never possess. While she was moderate clever, he was brilliant, and while he was more than a little proud of that fact, he was also well aware of how much it set him apart from everyone else. At times, that fact made him feel somewhat lonely, knowing that he would never experience many of the emotional hurdles that others did. True, it was a selfish feeling when he was given so much more, not to mention that he was not particularly interested in many of such emotional hurdles after watching others experience them. Granted, he understood those emotions well, which made him so adept at interacting with people when it was needed, but it was not quite the same as experiencing it.

But it was not just their intelligence that differed, but their personalities, as well. While L often faced life with sarcasm and an analytical mind, Misa jumped into it with optimism, expecting the best out of everything, instantly pouring her affection onto those around her, boosting their spirits purely through her personality. Even L found it hard to be in a bad mood when Misa was there cheering everyone on, joking around with others and although at times it annoyed him how distracting she was to his group and himself, at the end of the day, he was grateful for her attitude.

"Why do you like Misa so much, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked abruptly. L, entranced by the river, did not respond immediately. After a while, though, he raised himself up so that he could face Light, who had turned to meet his gaze. For a moment, L felt the need to run to Misa, snatch her, and hide her away from this man that he was facing. That Light could not see the value in her, the virtue in her beautiful personality was proof that he did not truly appreciate Misa. He wondered how a man could live with having such a girl adoring him without being able to feel some affection towards her.

"She is enjoyable when she is not being aggravating," L responded mildly.

"She is _always_ aggravating," Light told him, scowling slightly.

"Why do you not like her, Light?" he asked in turn, ignoring the rude remark made towards the girl.

"She's clueless," Light said. "She puts herself in dangerous situations, she doesn't know when to close her mouth, and she can't accept rejection – or it just doesn't register in her mind." L stared at him after this while Light ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. "I can't even let her go now, not with how much information she has on the case. Kira could find out that she was involved with us and go after her next. So I have to put up with her until the Kira case in completed. Then I can let her go easy."

"But why would you care if Kira goes after her if you don't even care for her?" L inquired reasonably.

"Jesus, Ryuuzaki," he shot him a dirty look, "I'm not completely heartless. Just because I don't like her doesn't mean I want her to get killed."

"I'm surprised by that," was the flippant response he received. Light stared at him angrily for a moment.

"That doesn't even deserve an answer," Light said in a disgusted tone, pushing away from the bridge and storming off towards where Misa was chatting with the vendor. L watched him with an indifferent expression in a slouched position, his hands buried in his pockets. Light approached Misa and her face lit up and she began to explain something, but he just shook his head and took her arm, pulling her away from the vendor. She turned to wave at the man and then followed Light willingly, her cotton candy bag in her arms.

L did not even look at Light, his eyes on Misa's bright face. And while watching her, he could not help but realize that there was one imperfection to Misa Amane and that was her complete and blind loyalty to Light Yagami.

"Would you like some cotton candy, Ryuuzaki?" she asked him when they returned to him. Light kept a hold on Misa, a cold look in his eyes. Misa, however, was smiling, having clearly forgotten that she had called him a pervert some time ago. Her hands held out the bag of cotton candy in offering and he looked at her lovely face for a moment before he looked down at the pink fluff.

"Thank you, Misa, I would," he quietly said and took some. When he removed his hand, she looped her arm in his and handed the cotton candy to Light. L looked to her in question.

"We should all stick together," she firmly told him, tugging him closer. "Don't you think?" L took a bite from his cotton candy, feeling it melt in his mouth. His eyes turned up to Light, whose face was like granite, unchanging and cool.

"I think so," L replied. _It really is a pity that such a girl is wasted on him, _he mused afterward. _She is perfection, whereas he is simply acting as perfection. _"Too bad," he murmured.

"What is too bad?" Misa asked, confused.

He turned to look at her. "I cannot look at your shapely legs." Light glanced at him over Misa's head, one of his eyebrows raising.

"Aughh!" Misa jerked away from him and stepped around so that she was on Light's other side. "Why do you have to say such perverted things?"

"I was only telling the truth," L told her simply. As she continued to mutter and send him suspicious looks, L nibbled on his cotton candy. Any other man would have kept her by his side, but L was no other man. For him, with her being that close, being so kind and treating him like he was normal was too much to bear. The warmth in his chest hurt when he felt as though he had a chance at getting close to her. This way, he could keep her far away and in the end, the result would always be the same. She would always remain with Light and L would pretend to be oblivious of that feeling that was developing in his chest.

_It really is a pity that Light is so lucky. _

_Finis_

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DIS: Well, let me know how I did on L's character. I wasn't sure if I had gotten it down quite right. If you have any criticism, go ahead and send it in. Please review telling me how you liked it or what you didn't like about it, etc. Ciao!


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